4 Considerations for Booking
Pet-friendly Accommodations
Traveling with a pet means that you’ll need to find a pet-friendly accommodation and this post is meant to help you with that process. It can seem easy enough when many hotels state their pet policy in their FAQ page and vacation rental websites like Airbnb have pet-friendly search options, but many pet owners will know that pet-friendly doesn’t always mean that every pet is welcome.
Here is what you need to consider when booking a pet-friendly accommodation:
Type of pet
Pet fees
Number and size of pets
The “pet-friendly” space
If you’re also interested in how to get a positive Airbnb review while vacationing with a pet, you can check out Cat-Friendly Travel: How to get a Good Airbnb Review.
Type of Pet
You’ll likely have more success finding pet-friendly accommodations if you’re vacationing with your pup as several accommodations that claim to be pet-friendly really mean to say that they are dog-friendly. If you plan to vacation with a different type of pet such as a cat, rabbit, or bird, it is highly recommended that you contact the host beforehand to confirm their pet policy.
I don’t have tons of knowledge on other types of animals, but here are some North American hotel chains that tend to accept dogs and cats:
Best Western Hotels & Resorts
Coast Hotels
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Hotel Zed
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Ritz-Carlton
Pet Fees
Once you’ve established that your chosen hotel or vacation rental will allow your pet, you will need to consider whether you are going to be charged a pet fee. In an ideal situation, there will be no pet fee or you will only be charged a single fee for the entire stay. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for hotels to charge a per night fee, and if you’re traveling with multiple pets this can sometimes result in a hefty per pet per night charge.
The pet fee itself will range depending on the hotel, and you can often expect higher fees for hotels that come with pet amenities. On average, we’ve found pet fees in hotels to range from $25 to $150 for one stay with two cats.
If you plan to take the vacation rental route and book through a site like Airbnb, then you may also need to pay a pet fee that often goes towards extra cleaning procedures. The fees for Airbnb pet fees tend to be less taxing on the wallet compared to hotels as many people seem to charge per stay and allow you to have up to two pets without extra charges. On average, we’ve found pet fees in Airbnbs to range from $5 to 50 for one stay with two cats.
Number and size of pets
As mentioned, you may need to pay more if you are bringing more than one pet on your adventures. Along with the per pet fees, you also need to check that the accommodation allows more than one pet as there are some places that will limit it to one pet per room.
The size of your pet may also play a factor in whether they are welcome or if your pet fee will increase. Kimpton Hotels states that “if your pet fits through the door, [they will] welcome them in” with no additional costs. Unfortunately, this isn’t the policy that all hotels adhere to, and there are some that will not allow pets that exceed a certain height or weight. I can’t provide much more insight into how strict hotels are with these limits as my cats aren’t anywhere close to the restrictions (phew!)
The pet-friendly space
Finally, when it comes to selecting a pet-friendly accommodation, you’ll want to consider whether the place is welcoming of pets or merely tolerates their presence. Some hotels will claim to be pet-friendly but will not allow pets to be left unattended in rooms, refuse to accept pets that bark or meow, or only allow pets to be outside of a carrier within the room itself. For this reason, we tend to book Airbnbs when we can as it gives the cats a more comfortable stay.
While it is understandable that hotels must accommodate people with pet allergies, it seems wrong to flaunt pet-friendly status only to allow pets to be in the hotel room inside a crate. Remember to check the pet policy of the hotel to see if they will allow pets to be free inside your room and if there are any pet-friendly spaces (outdoor areas or patios) on the hotel premise.
And here’s a final word from Reinhardt: rdsxfff